The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1887-04-14
Sketches for the Boys.

No. :. TIL WONDERS OF TIE YELLOW
STONE PAI;k.
Imagine a bright June morning. The sky is
Of the deepest blue. not a cloud to be SEEM
The air is clear and bracin-. The hour is six.
The means of locomotion are "a coach and
six the point of departure being the Mann
moth Hot springs. A. we mount to the dry-
| cr'> box. we wait for a mo;2Ht to look at the
dense columns of steam rising from the ter
raced slopes of the Mammoth springs. Then
our coach rolls swiftly over the plain.
| Now if You will lend NE Your ewes will try
AMI point out to you the wonders which arc to
be seen on this ride to the great @eyscrs in the
upper -ey>er basin. Soon we begin to climb a
steep Grade uiitil We look back and down > 1000
feet upon the hotel which we have just left.
| Look at that beautiful waterfall wonder,
where the Gardiner river on or left fails fifty
feet and more from a shelf of the rock We
NOW enter the Golden gate where we pass
| through dccl. narrow canon. ON our left
"Bunyan'> peak which is 10000 feet high,
towers 1000 feet above our heads. The swift,
narrow river Is between our road and its base.
ON cur right wall of rock rises 600 feet
above the road. great, gray, perpendicular
Wall, right yonder il projects itself out into the
canon ana rises Il froWl.ng mass of stone
he turnpike has been cut through this pro-
lrctiom and the stone passage has been appro-
i'illtcly named the "Goltien Gate" Look III
ana You Will feel a >hu'!dler creep along YOUR
SPINAL column rs YOU notice the masses of rock
~"alnch and broken, suspended in the air so
many 1ret ABOVE you. During the rainy sea-
>oh> oi sprung and autumn, the rain and frosts
frequently di>loige large fragments of this
hlGhtv wall which come laundering down
With terrific force. The wooden trestle work
over which our coach is now passing has been
frequently crushed and ruined in this manner.
but The rocks seldom. If ever. fall in the dry
summer season.
W hrn once through the Golden Gate we ell
ter a hcautitu' valley along which we ride for
adozen miles at an altitude of 5000 feet. Tbi,
ia re9ion of perpetual snow and ice. We see
ii packed n Tie woods and along the RIDGES
just above lis, white. clear and sparkling in the
warm rays of the June sun. 1t will contirne
to sparkle and will succeed in holding the fort
through all the summer heat until September
sHaH BRING 1t reihforcenent> in its great snow
cOuds. Between and beneath these ice drifts
Is lilNuriant growth Of grass. the green and
the white The Grass and the snow join hands
III the most fraternal manner. and in the month
OF July the most beautiful and fragrant wild
mowers VIII bloom close mp TO the cold, hard
shoulders of the drifts and send their sweet
Thus il always is III this life: the extremes
touch; the rich and the poor, the pure and the |
impure. The high and low iostle each other |
rln'eiy III the struggle for life, and nature car
lie> out the same analogy amid these terrific
surroundings by producing plants and flowers
with all the rare beauties of the tropics close |
UP to the heartless. lifeess mountains of etcr-
nal Arctic Ice. This valley is paradise for |
the game. which in the Yellowstone park is |
protected by government officials.
Buffalo, elk aud deer abound in this region. |
Our driver informs lis that it is no uniisuaj |
thing to see herds of the two latter grazing in |
the valley while his coach rolls past and quite
frequently few of the former animals are |
seen III the distance looking with a suspicious |
ar at the intruders. We strained our vision |
III every direction. but all in vain: not a single |
hillalo, elk or deer was to be seen. If the |
present system OF protection is continued with |
III few years the park will be we'll stocked |
with this noble game.
In this valley we pass Silver lake. where we |
SOP lora moment to look upon the rare beauty |
OF NE scene. The surface of the water was
rs smooth as a mirror The opposite side from |
Where we stood was walled by a perpcpdicuIar
elm several hundred feet high which was cover
cd with lee and snow. all of which was reflect
Ell from lie water i'll most remarkable man
ner HE rare beauty of the scene called forth
many expressions Of admiration from the spec
tatorS. r.
We now enter Il dense growth of pine frees
small, scrub. second growth timber, through
which we toll slowly over rocks and >tumps
until our sentimental enthusiasm in nearly all |
destroyed. "Beaver Lake" soon affords rs
some relief and we alght from the coach to |
look upon what was once a genuine beaver
city. The water must cover nearly 300 acres
OF ground. nearly circular in form aid shut in
every side by the dark green pine forest.
Near the center of the lake stood the DESERT
ed houses of the coloni>tS, constructed of sticks.
bouSh> and mud in a manner which shows the
rare cunning and genius of these animals;
thanking these houses and extending across the
FAKE Ill nearly every direction were a series of
dams which they had constructed: with their
sharp teeth they had cut down the small sap
ping pines and gnaWcd the trunks into sticks
OF proper length; these they had stuck down
IN the soft bottom of the pond, leaving one end
OF each several rect above the water. These
upright sticks were covered with dirt and mud
and soon became barrier through which the
water could not pass. Several years have evil
IDENTITY passed since this city was abandoned by
Its builders. The dams are now covered with
grass put they remain in quite perfect condi-
ton. and in some portions of the lake the water
walled in by these dams is apparently some
two or three feet higher than in any other por-
tons Of the lake. 1t was quite a curiosity TO
inspect the stu!nps from which the trees had
been cut by these industrious workmen: the
marks OF their teeth were plainly seem telling
'"
Not far from Beaver Lake we will pass fine
''Obsitiian Cliffs" which is mountain of dark
colored glass produced by the action of VOL
cano. The mountain rises some 500 feet above
the turnpike and is thrce-fOurths of a mile i'm
length. The road has been cut along at its
base; huge boulders of glass have been crushed
INTO minute fragments and now compose the
road bed over which the stage coach crashes
with IFS heavy load. The walls of the noun
tam rise perpendicular in some places for a
|
the most highly finished glass. The shade is a
dccp, dark green. not unlike that seen i'm the
oid-iaSh!oned square case bottles. When we
passed IL the sun was pouring his fierce rays
uowli upon IT and the whole mass shone with a
peculiar and magnificent splendor. At its
crest detached spurs stood up scores of feet
above the greater mass, many of which were
fashioned into deft forms, and it required no
brilliant imagination to transform this noun
tain of glass into vast cathedral with its
spires pointing to the heavens-to the home Of
the great King for whose worship it had been
erected.
During this eventful day we pass through
gibbons CANON" one of the most beautiful
rugged outlines and frightful dimensions Of
The Grand canon of the Yellowstone which we
are soon to visit; but it has many features of
symmetrical beauty not found elsewhere. As
we enter the canon. the Gibbon river, beau
!iful stream, flows along at our right, gather
M s'!chS'h e"ci mne from the rugged noun
tain streams which thunder down the walls OF
the canon. These walls rise about 1000 feet
above the road. The canon at the widest point
cannot be over one mile in width, and in many
places it is narrowed down to less than SO
Yards: The bold, rugged sides of the canon
have been fashioned in great variety of
forms SO that the whole scene for a dozen
miles Is one constant, changing panorama Of
rare beauty and interest. The road is smooth
and level and there is nothing to disturb the
keen enjoyment experienced as one looks upon
This gallery Of natures matchlcss beauty. The
Glbbon Falls" is the most thrilling point i'm
his famous canon.
The coach halts at point some COO feet
above the river where it makes the mad plunge
over the rocks. We are informed that fRe